SUICIDE SQUAD: DREAM TEAM (2024) #2 written by Nicole Maines art by Eddy Barrows

SUICIDE SQUAD: DREAM TEAM (2024) #1 written by Nicole Maines art by Eddy Barrows

SUICIDE SQUAD: DREAM TEAM (2024) #1 written by Nicole Maines art by Eddy Barrows

ACTION COMICS (1938) #1060 written by Nicole Maines and Steve Orlando art by Fico Ossio

ACTION COMICS (1938) #1060 written by Nicole Maines and Steve Orlando art by Fico Ossio

TITANS: BEAST WORLD TOUR - METROPOLIS (2023) written by Nicole Maines and Steve Orlando art by Fico Ossio

TITANS: BEAST WORLD TOUR - METROPOLIS (2023) written by Nicole Maines and Steve Orlando art by Fico Ossio

Variant Covers for SUICIDE SQUAD: DREAM TEAM art by Sweeney Boo, Eddy Barrows, Gleb Melnikov, and Riccardo Federici

Today DC revealed that Maines has been tapped to pen a new ongoing series called Suicide Squad: Dream Team. The book's creative team also includes Freedom Fighters artist Eddy Barrows and inker Eber Ferreira. DC's latest Suicide Squad comic picks up in the aftermath of the current Beast World crossover. As part of her ongoing bid to consolidate power and combat what she sees as the dire threat posed by the superhero community, Waller spearheads a new incarnation of Task Force X that hinges on Dreamer's precognitive abilities. The new team also includes Harley Quinn, Black Alice, Bizarro, Clock King and Deadeye. "I'm really excited to be working with Eddy and Eber to bring Dreamer into this pivotal time in the DC Universe,” said Maines in DC's press release. “This is a very different space from what she’s used to, and where we’re used to seeing her; dealing with Amanda Waller and this new Suicide Squad is going to force her to decide what kind of hero she wants to be, and what she is willing to sacrifice to save the future.” Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1 will be released in print and digitally on March 12, 2024.

BAD DREAM: A DREAMER STORY exclusive preview in DC PRIDE 2023 written by Nicole Maines art by Rye Hickman

Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story is part of DC's growing YA graphic novel line, which also includes stories like Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale and Beast Boy Loves Raven. But where most of these books are intended as standalone stories not connected to the larger DC Universe, Maines specifically envisions Bad Dream as being set in DC's main comic book continuity. This is meant to be the definitive origin story for a character who has never really had one.

"We've never seen her backstory before," Maines says. "This is the first anybody's hearing of it. So for all intents and purposes, that is her origin story. Because there hasn't ever been an issue stating otherwise, and so now we're going to have upwards of 200 pages detailishly chronicling how she came to possess these powers and what she did in the immediate aftermath. The whole story takes place over three days, so it's just this intense fight or flight response from her in response to her awakening."

The book focuses a great deal on Nia Nal's troubled relationship with her sister, Maeve, the family's golden child and the one whom everyone assumes will inherit their mother's Naltorian ability to see the future through dreams. But when Nia manifests this ability after a schoolyard accident, she runs away from home and attempts to suppress her gift.

"Her entire motivation for running away is, 'I have to protect my sister.' This is all [Maeve] ever wanted. These powers are all she's trained for. Since she could read, she has been studying with her mother to become a powerful seer. And Nia realizing that she has these powers is like, 'I can't take this from her. I can't.' And there's such a power dynamic between them, where Maeve is so obviously the alpha, she's the front woman, she's the featured player, and she's always happy to let Nia be Nia, as long as that doesn't take any of my light and doesn't take away from my time on stage. And so Nia realizing she has these powers is like, 'I have to get away. Until I can figure out what's going on, I cannot be near my sister.'"

Preview pages from BAD DREAM: A DREAMER STORY written by Nicole Maines art by Rye Hickman releasing April 2024

NIA NAL on various covers of DC PRIDE 2023 art by Mateus Manhanini, Gabriel Picolo, and Oscar Vega

NIA NAL’s entry in the DC BOOK OF PRIDE written by Jadzia Axelrod art by  A.L. Kaplan

LAZARUS PLANET: ASSAULT ON KRYPTON (2023) #1 written by Nicole Maines art by Skylar Patridge

NIA NAL Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton (2023) #1 art by Skylar Patridge

LAZARUS PLANET: ASSAULT ON KRYPTON (2023) written by Nicole Maines art by Skylar Patridge